1. As used in the specifications:

2. Whenever the contractor or any subcontractor subcontracts a portion of the work, it shall include in each subcontract of $5,000 or more the nondiscrimination clause in this contract directly or through incorporation by reference. Any subcontract for work involving a construction trade shall also include the Standard California Construction Contract Specifications, either directly or through incorporation by reference.

3. The contractor shall implement the specific nondiscrimination standards provided in paragraphs 6(a) through (e) of these specifications.

4. Neither the provisions of any collective bargaining agreement, nor the failure by a union with whom the contractor has a collective bargaining agreement, to refer members of any group protected by the Act shall excuse the contractor's obligations under these specifications, Government Code section 12990, or the regulations promulgated pursuant thereto.

5. In order for the nonworking training hours of apprentices and trainees to be counted, such apprentices and trainees must be employed by the contractor during the training period, and the contractor must have made a commitment to employ the apprentices and trainees at the completion of their training, subject to the availability of employment opportunities. Trainees must be trained pursuant to training programs approved by the U.S. Department of Labor or the California Department of Industrial Relations.

6. The contractor shall take specific actions to implement its nondiscrimination program. The evaluation of the contractor's compliance with these specifications shall be based upon its effort to achieve maximum results from its actions. The contractor must be able to demonstrate fully its efforts under steps a. through e. below:

7. Contractors are encouraged to participate in voluntary associations that assist in fulfilling their equal employment opportunity obligations. The efforts of a contractor association, joint contractor-union, contractor-community, or other similar group of which the contractor is a member and participant, may be asserted as fulfilling any one or more of its obligations under these specifications provided that the contractor actively participates in the group, makes every effort to assure that the group has a positive impact on equal employment opportunity in the industry, ensures that the concrete benefits of the program are reflected in the contractor's workforce participation, and can provide access to documentation that demonstrates the effectiveness of actions taken on behalf of the contractor. The obligation to comply, however, is the contractor's.

8. The contractor is required to provide equal employment opportunity for all persons. Consequently, the contractor may be in violation of the Fair Employment and Housing Act (Government Code section 12990 et seq.) if a particular group is employed in a substantially disparate manner.

9. The contractor shall not use the nondiscrimination standards to discriminate against any person because of race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, reproductive health decisionmaking, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, or military and veteran status.

10. The contractor shall not enter into any subcontract with any person or firm decertified from state contracts pursuant to Government Code section 12990.

11. The contractor shall carry out such sanctions and penalties for violation of these specifications and the nondiscrimination clause, including suspension, termination and cancellation of existing subcontracts as may be imposed or ordered pursuant to Government Code section 12990 and its implementing regulations by the awarding agency. Any contractor who fails to carry out such sanctions and penalties shall be in violation of these specifications and Government Code section 12990.

12. The contractor shall designate a responsible official to monitor all employment related activity to ensure that the company equal employment opportunity policy is being carried out, to submit reports relating to the provisions hereof as may be required by OCP and to keep records. Records shall at least include for each employee the name, address, telephone numbers, construction trade, union affiliation if any, employee identification number when assigned, status, (e.g., mechanic, apprentice trainee, helper, or laborer), dates of changes in status, hours worked per week in the indicated trade, rate of pay, and locations at which the work was performed. Records shall be maintained in any easily understandable and retrievable form; however, to the degree that existing records satisfy this requirement, contractors shall not be required to maintain separate records.